Two men die while climbing Velliangiri Hills in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: A man from Chennai and another from Madurai died while climbing the Velliangiri Hills in Coimbatore on Saturday, taking the death toll this year to six. The deceased have been identified as M Saravanan, a cab driver from St Thomas Mount in Chennai, and S Seenivasan, 47, of Pamban Road in Madurai. Saravanan and his friend arrived from Chennai on Saturday morning and began climbing the seven hills. During the trek, Saravanan complained of stomach discomfort and went near the bushes along the route to relieve himself. He then rejoined the trek. Later, he felt unwell and collapsed on the second hill. Forest department officials deployed dolly workers to bring him down to the foothill, where government doctors on duty declared him dead. Sources said Saravanan might have died of a cardiac arrest, though the exact cause would be confirmed after the postmortem. His body was sent to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for the postmortem examination. In the second incident, Seenivasan, who started his trek on Saturday morning, was found dead on the third hill around 6 pm. After being informed, forest department officials arranged for a dolly to bring his body down. A 21-year-old college student had died while trekking on the hills in the early hours of Friday. Following his death, the Isha Yoga Centre opened a medical camp on the fourth hill for trekkers. There are three medical camps run by the health department, including two at the foothill and one on the first hill.